my husband & i will taking the overnight train from venice-naples. should we go 1st or 2nd class couchettes? what's the difference? also,how much will it cost? i went into the trenitalia website but i'm not sure how to do it. there's a window that pops out that gives three choices: uomo, donna, compatimento intero. which one should i choose?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Gail-- We have a Train FAQ which contains some past threads on train travel in Italy.
Train FAQ

Amy in MA
"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

hi amy, ive read the train FAQ but it doesn't mention about 1st/2nd class couchettes. pls help

HERE is a link to the RailEurope site, with an explanation of sleepers vs. couchettes, and 1st and 2nd class.
(DO NOT buy your tickets from RailEurope! They have a huge markup and a $15/ticket handling fee.)

I was under the impression that a couchette was 2nd class. Of course, you can always get first class sleeping accomodations, but if you ask for a couchette, I think it would normally be in 2nd class, 6 to a car.

There are 4 couchettes in 1st class compartment, and 6 couchettes in 2nd class compartment.

I'd rather prefer travelling in a sleeping car in a 2-beds compartment (T2) . Much safer and more confortable.

Fare from Venice to Naples on a T2 sleeping car compartment is €167.14 for both.

I'm afraid only residents in Italy can reserve on-line on trenitalia web site as a personal income code (the so called "codice fiscale") is requested while processing.
I think you can just reserve and buy your tickets once in Venice, a couple of days before travelling.

Lc

I've even been in a couchette with only 3 bunks (1st class). When I take overnight trains, I always go the couchette route but 1st class (4 bunks). It doesn't change anything as far as comfort, there are just fewer people in the compartment.

I don't mind travelling this way, but I don't need a lot of comfort. The trains are noisy so if you're a light sleeper, you might have difficulty.

Also if you're tall, it can be a bit cramped. I am only 5'8" (173cm) and sometimes I can't stretch out on the top bunk because the ceiling of the compartment is curved.

I've never been in a sleeping car (wagonlit), so I can't tell you how much any of this changes.

Steph

Webfabbrica di Roma
Web Design & Search Engine Optimization

Thanks for the information! Now I will know that I can ask for a 1st class couchette! As for the added "comfort" of a sleeping car, I don't think much changes in that respect. You do have more privacy, but Art says he never sleeps on a sleeper..he tells me in the morning how many times we stopped, when we arrived at the station, etc...me, I just sleep thru it all! And yes, we have always bought our tickets in Europe, a few days in advance.

I took a first class couchette once and there were only two bunks as well as a sink in the room. the attendant came in with breakfast trays in the am. I did book this a few weeks in advance, as it was not available on my prior trip and i spent the night in a cabin with 5 others, one who tended to scream in her sleep.

quote:

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Originally posted by KellyC:
I took a first class couchette once and there were only two bunks as well as a sink in the room. the attendant came in with breakfast trays in the am.

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That's what I had when I went to Venice from the first time. Night train from Frankfurt and first fight with my sister-in-law. She didn't mind to sleep with 5 other people on top of her (well, not literally) and I insisted in the one with only two bunk beds (only after my brother assured me that she didn't snore). I could be happy just sitting in a regular car but my brother insisted that we should have sleeping cars. The trip to Venice was his birthday present for me.

"Canto alla vita alla sua bellezza ad ogni sua ferita ogni sua carezza..."

"I sing to life, to its beauty, to each of its wounds and each of its caresses..."

So, a sleeping car with 1,2 or 3 bed and basin on Trenitalia trains are called "Vagone Letto" (Wagon Litz).
4 or 6 sleepers accomodation in one compartment is called "Cuccette".

A WL on 2 or 3 beds accomodation requests only a second class ticket and it's certainly cost affordable.

Lc